finding my heart
by krystal-cut-eyes
Summary: I'm girl that sits in the back of the class. No presence at all. People look right through me when I speak. I may as well not be standing there at all. My 'best friend' wants me by her side so my plainess makes her look twice as pretty. I'm small and weak. And i hate it. (prequel to my ouran fic open your heart to me. no knowlege of it is needed it to read this story) oc centric
1. Chapter 1

I am the girl that sits in the back of the class.

I have no presence at all.

Teachers overlook me a lot, causing tons of attendance accidents.

People look right through me when I speak, as if I may as well not be standing there at all.

I am the one who never gets invited to school festivals.

My 'best friend' is the kind of girl who would want me by her side so my plain looks make her look twice as pretty.

She thinks I'm a submissive puppy that follows her around blindly, begging to be acknowledged.

And the way she makes that happen is by gossiping about me behind me back.

She could care less about my problems, but when it comes to her she expects me to drop everything and have all the time in the world to listen to her whine.

She's only ever invited me to sleepovers so they have someone they won't feel bad about pranking.

So far I've woken up with pink hair, 'tar-and-feathered,' 'I'm a loser' spray tanned onto my stomach, and with my body duct tapped to the floor.

And every time my parents can see the results of these pranks, I always lie to cover them.

I always pass it off as my fault, and they laugh as my parents scold me.

I'm a pushover and can't speak up for myself.

I'm small and weak.

And even though mama and papa would never admit it, I know I'm a disgrace to my martial arts family.

There is so much I want to be.

But I have none of the courage I need to make it possible.

And I'm sick of it.

**XXxXX**

I suppress the urge to cry as I look at my reflection in the mirror.

The girl staring back me is blue.

That's right...blue.

My body, pajamas, and hair is coated in a sticky, sweet-smelling layer of blue...something.

I raise a finger to my face, taking a quick sniff before taking an experimental lick.

Yup, Blue Raspberry Jell-O.

I lower my hands to the sink, tears finally slipping down my cheeks.

Damn it.

I'm just happy I was paranoid and woke up early. I don't think I would ever live down looking like this in front of them.

I already know how they would react.

They'd pretend to be surprised at first, then burst out laughing until I started crying.

Three of them would pretend to comfort me while the other one would take pictures when they thought I wouldn't notice.

Then I'd be humiliated at school on Monday, and left to be eaten alive by crowds of laughing kids.

I wipe my nose before reaching for the hot water tap.

It twists, but no water comes out.

My eyes widen in horror as I twist the cold water tap a little harder than necessary.

Nothing.

I stumble over to the bathtub, twisting both taps at the same time.

Nothing, not even from the shower head.

I sink to my knees beside the mass of marble, wiping my eyes on my arms.

I stay like that for a while, thanking whoever is up there I've mastered the art of silent crying.

I finally rise on shaky legs, when the digital clock flashes 4:45 am.

I flip off the lights and sand there a moment, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness.

I push the door open slowly, trying not to let the hinges squeak.

Any noise is like a gunshot for the four girls lying on the floor of this bedroom.

The closest one to the bathroom door is Lise.

She has long ebony hair that spreads like a dark halo around her head. She has bright blue eyes that would be considered enchanting if she ever stopped glaring.

I carefully step around her and approach the lightly snoring red head next to her.

Catherine is a small girl with extreme passive aggressive issues. Her large brown eyes make her look pure and innocent, but she's rotten to the core.

A few feet away from her is Cecile, who tosses and turns restlessly as I step close to her.

She has short brown hair with really obvious extensions. it hurts to look at them.

It's almost like her stylist new what a bitch she was and purposely gave her real hair a blunt cut, but Cecile is too stupid to realize how ugly it looks.

And then there's the one I hate most of all.

Nicolette lies still as a statue, looking like freaking Sleeping Beauty.

The beauty in the way the moonlight reflects off her golden bond hair makes me sick. And the way her cheeks flush delicately and her rose pink lips part ever so slightly makes me want to smother her with my pillow.

Why such beauty was wasted on someone like her is beyond me.

I suppress the urge to kick her and kneel down next to my own sleeping bag.

If I squint hard enough, I can see the remains of some blue powder among my blankets, which are also somewhat splotched.

I shiver in the chilly air of early spring, biting down on my tongue as I arrange the blankets to make it look like I rolled out of my sleeping bag.

And with that, I curl up on the plush carpet, thinking that morning could not come soon enough.

**XXxXX**

I don't know what color my face is right now.

It's probably purple.

Or red with overlapping patches of blue.

Either way, it's probably ugly.

"You poor thing," Nicolette coos as she strokes my splotched hair. "Who could have done this to you?"

I bow my head and shrug my shoulders, refusing to speak.

I'm painfully aware that Lise is taking pictures, and I try to pass off my trembling as silent crying.

"It must have been Claude and Jérôme again," Cecile scoffs as she flips her extensions over her shoulder.

"That wouldn't surprise me," Catherine adds as she attempts to hide her glee by glaring at the wall that divides our room from the two boys.

The first time I slept over at Nicolette's house, I stumbled into a trap Claude and Jérôme had set for their big sister.

The other four had thought it was so funny it became a tradition. But of course, blaming the boys became a tradition too.

"That's not going to come off easily," Lise finally mutters as she hides her camera.

"How are you going to get all that out by school on Monday?" Catherine asks innocently.

"You'll be scrubbing that forever," Nicolette says, emphasizing all the syllables in forever.

"It's a shame really," Cecile says as she examines her nails. "I wonder why it's always you Angélique."

I pretend not to notice as the other girls shoot Cecile a 'shut up or you're next' look.

She takes the hint and bites down on her lower lip, flushing an unattractive raspberry color.

"It's ok," I whisper as I crawl over to my duffle bag and pull out a gigantic black pullover sweatshirt. "I'm sure they'll grow out of it soon."

They smirk as I pull the sweater over my head letting the hem come to a rest a little below my knees.

All this time and they think I still haven't figured it out yet.

I never thought I was that great at acting.

I pull on a pair of knee socks, doing my best to cover up all the areas of my body that is all splotched.

I can't take this much longer.

My phone buzzes then, and relief flows over me.

Papa is here.

"Oh, I gotta go," I whisper as I zip up my duffle bag. "That's my ride."

"You never stay for breakfast," Nicolette pouts. "Why don't you have him pick you up later?"

Yeah, and give them the chance to slip something like laxatives into my oatmeal? Not in this lifetime.

"I'm sorry," I lie as I swing my duffle over my shoulder. "But I have training this morning. Maybe next time."

I bow my head shallowly, because they honestly don't deserve anything short of a mocking bow. But they just interpret it as a sign of obedience instead.

Idiots.

I shuffle silently to the door as they continue chatting, twisting the doorknob and silently slipping out.

I close the door softly and count to ten, then their laughter hits me like a wave. A wave that's trying to kill you that is.

"Can you believe her?" I hear Catherine snort.

"I have training," Lise mocks. "Yeah right! What does her family even do?"

"No one knows for sure," Nicolette sighs. "But she always says she's a part of a Japanese martial arts clan."

"What's their specialty?" Cecile asks through fits of giggles. "The Groveling Fist?"

"Maybe this training will help her grow a spine," Lise cackles.

"But it's more fun teasing her now," Catherine giggles. "Could you imagine what it would be like if she actually stood up for herself?"

A heavy silence hangs over the room for a moment.

"Thought so," Catherine gloats.

"Like that would ever happen," Lise mutters.

"Alright, alright," Nicolette snaps. "We've got to figure out what prank to do for my birthday party next Friday night. The entire 6ème***** will be there, so it has to be good."

I exhale quietly and bite my lip as I pull my hood over my head.

I turn to leave and almost have a heart attack when I see two small boys standing in front of me.

Their large crystal blue eyes are unblinking as they take in the blue splotches adorning my face.

"Oh," I whisper, clutching my chest. "It's just you two."

"We didn't do it," the taller one with shaggy sandy blond hair says quietly.

My face softens as I look down at them.

"It's ok," I whisper. "I know it was never you."

"We're sorry," the smaller one with short brown hair says.

"You don't have to be," I reply as I walk past them. "You can't pick your family."

**XXxXX**

"What happened this time?" mama asks as she runs a brush through my hair.

"W-well," I stammer. "We were trying to make a drink that we heard was popular in public schools."

Mama nods as she tries to arrange my hair in a way that will hide the blue.

It's not possible. It's everywhere.

"I was carrying a big pitcher of it outside when I tripped over Nicolette's cat."

"Honestly ma petite fleur," she coos as she sets the brush down. "You need to be more careful."

I nod numbly as she ties a giant pink ribbon in my waves on once pale blond hair.

"You know," she says as she steps back to inspect me. "A blue ribbon might take away from the splotches better. I'll be right back."

She excuses herself, leaving me alone in my massive pink bedroom.

What a disgusting color.

I sigh heavily and flop face down on my mattress, sinking into my swan feather pillows.

"Now that she's gone why don't you tell me what really happened?"

If I wasn't lying down I probably would have fallen off my bed.

I don't know how she does it, but once again, Elizabeth has managed to enter my room without me knowing.

I'm supposed to be the heir to an all-powerful martial arts clan and three people have snuck up on me in one day.

Now that is pretty pathetic.

"E-excuse me?" I stammer.

Elizabeth sighs and sits down on the edge of my bed, smoothing out the skirts of her navy maid uniform.

"Be honest with me Miss Amaya," she commands, her gray eyes glinting like cold hard steel.

I grit my teeth at the use of my Japanese name.

"I don't know what you're talking about Elizabeth," I reply as I squish a fluffy pillow to my chest.

"Even you aren't clumsy enough to trip over a cat," she says icily. "They did that to you didn't they?"

"No," I reply a little too quickly. "It was just an accident."

Elizabeth sighs and runs a hand through her chestnut hair, pulling a few strands out from the tight bun it's styled in.

"Why would you defend them Miss Amaya?" she asks, frustration seeping into her voice.

Good question.

And my pathetic answer...I'm already a freak. I can't afford to be a friendless freak.

I swallow hard.

"I'm alright Elizabeth," I lie. "Really."

She sighs heavily.

"Very well," she says curtly as she pulls a blue ribbon from her apron pocket. "I'm here to fix your hair. Your mother got sidetracked."

We sit in silence as Elizabeth re-braids my hair, pulling my stubborn waves into a tight rope braid.

I cuddle my pillow to my face, breathing in the heavy sent of perfume.

It's odd. This perfume is supposed to be relaxing and fresh smelling. But it hangs heavy over me, smelling as fake as I feel.

Just as Elizabeth ties the bow around the end of my braid, a knock interrupts her.

"Come in," I call tiredly.

I watch as the door swings open and papa sticks his head in.

"Ah! There you are ma petite fleur!" he exclaims.

Papa's French isn't as natural sounding as mama's or mine. He's originally Japanese, but moved to France when he married mama to open a new branch of the Atsumi clan's dojo.

To appeal more to the public, he took mama's last name. Then they did something similar to me when I was born.

At school I'm Angelique Ouvrir le Coeur, and at home I'm Amaya Atsumi.

I wish they had given me just one name. It's hard being twelve and living my life as two people.

"Bonjour papa," I reply, trying to sound happy.

"Ah merveilleux, the dye is almost gone," he says happily as he examines me.

I managed to get most of the dye off my face and arms after a good two and a half hours of scrubbing, and my hair has faded to a slightly less noticeable pastel blue.

"Uh huh," I mutter as I look up at him.

Something is up. He's smiling, but it's not reaching his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

He smiles sheepishly as he sits down on the bed next to me.

Elizabeth excuses herself, dipping into a quick curtsy before hurrying from the room.

"Well, I have some news," papa finally says. "We're going to Japan."

I feel a dull flicker of excitement before my mouth opens on its own accord.

"Why?"

I guess he expected me to be ecstatic, because he doesn't look like he's got an answer.

"Well..." he trails off. "We're going to go visit your grandparents."

"Why now?"

He sweat drops.

"Well, you see, your grandfather was sick recently, so your mother and I want to check on him, just in case."

I can tall he's lying through his teeth, but I pretend to be oblivious.

"Ok..." I trail off. "Are we going this summer?"

"Actually," he laughs nervously. "We're flying out tomorrow night."

My jaw drops.

"B-but what about school Papa?" I stammer. "It's the middle of the semester!"

"Calm down ma petite fleur," he commands as he stands back up. "We've hired someone to homeschool you."

"We'll be gone that long?" I ask, daring to get my hopes up.

Well if anything good comes out of this, it's the fact that I get to skip Nicolette's birthday party. I don't get embarrassed, and I can piss her off at the same time.

Papa seems to take my silence as sadness, so he ruffles my bangs.

"Don't worry," he says with a smile. "It will be an adventure! You'll see all your cousins, and you can bring all your friends back some amazing souvenirs!"

He loosens his tie as I stand up and smooth out my skirts.

"Now I've got to go change and get ready for the next set of classes. But once I'm done I'll come help you pack alright?"

I nod numbly as he kisses my forehead.

I stand by the door until I hear his footsteps fad down the hall. Something's not right here.

Once I'm sure he's at least halfway to his suite I head towards his office. Surely I can count on him to be scatterbrained enough to leave all I need to know in plain sight.

Sure enough, the first thing I see when I open the door to his office is a desk and coffee table overflowing with loose papers.

Well, this may be more of a challenge than I originally thought.

But I'm almost immediately proved wrong as I spy a lavender piece of stationary on the coffee table.

All official notices from the main house are written on this stationary, and when I pick it up, I recognize the writing as grandpa's.

I skim through it, but once I catch a few words, I halt and start reading it through properly.

My Dear Akihiko,

I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health. I also wish to apologize for not making it out for the holidays. I'm not as young as I used to be and came down with a nasty case of the flu that took me a while to get rid of.

Now, skipping straight to the point of this letter.

I've reviewed last month's report on Amaya's training, and was shocked to see how behind she is compared to her other cousins.

Believe me, I want to honor your status as first born and pass down the dojo to you. But with the way Amaya's training is going and her lack of siblings, we just don't know if she's the most suitable choice for heir.

Even her cousin Daisuke, six years her junior is above and beyond her current skill level.

So please, don't feel like I'm trying to punish you. Just think about what's best for the future generations of our clan.

The family will meet in three days to discuss matters face to face. I hope you bare me no ill feelings.

Love always,

Arata

I watch with unseeing eyes as the paper flutters back onto its place on the coffee table.

They're going to take away papa's place as the next head of the clan because of me?

**XXxXX**

I don't know how, but I managed to get back to my room.

I can't even explain how I feel right now...

Papa could lose his birthright and it's all my fault. I feel like crying.

But I seemed to have cried out all my supply of tears, because my eyes just feel dry and itchy from my lack of blinking.

I kick off my shoes and curl up in a ball under my covers, pulling my favorite stuffed bunny to my chest.

Why am I so pathetic?

It's not even that I slack off...I'm just that bad.

Papa has spent countless hours trying to teach me the clan's style, but I've never been able to master anything other than the bare minimum of the basics. Even my form sucks.

I fiddle with my bunny's ears as my eyes clench closed, as if this blanket is bulletproof and can protect and close out anything from the outside world.

No one disturbed me and I slept until my alarm blared the next morning. And it's a good thing too.

Because while I fell asleep holding my bunny, that's not what I was clutching to my chest the next morning.

**XXx Author's Notes xXX**

**thanks so much for reading! i'm really excited for this fic. it's my first Shugo Chara, so i'm a bit nervous. but more excited.**

**thanks to my brilliant beta Sparklefaith!**

** 6ème******* is like 6th grade here in the US, so that makes Aya like 11 or 12 in this fic. i'm leaning towards 11 though.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that flashes through my mind as I stare at the brightly colored eggs in my arms is…it's not Easter yet.

I sit up slowly, wondering how long they've been there and how I managed not to crush them in my sleep.

I pick up the closest one to me and almost drop it when I feel it's warm.

What are live eggs doing in my bed?! Are the people in this house pranking me too?!

I bring it closer to my face and examine it closely.

It's beautiful. It starts out as a dark bluish-black at the top before fading into softer lighter shades of blue at the bottom. In the center is a large crescent moon that's partially covered by clouds.

I set it down and pick up another.

This one is pink, but not an ugly Pepto Bismol pink. It's more of a muted tea rose color. There are gold spots on it, like little explosions of light, and they almost seem luminous in my dark room. It has a darker red violet bow tied around it with a rose in the center.

The next one is dark blue with a weird red symbol on it. It looks like the sign for female, only the circular part has a crescent moon on either side of them. And the part that extends down into "t" rises up through the circle and then flicks off to the left. Three gold dots surround the entire symbol.

The other one is a bright yellow with many multicolored teardrops on it. The teardrops are in many shades of pastel blues, purples, and pinks.

And the last one is a bright purple. There's a pattern around the center that looks like someone just splashed globs of red paint everywhere. On top of the red are many small stars in various neon colors.

All of them are warm.

I swallow hard. What am I supposed to do with them?

The sudden knock on the door almost makes me fall out of bed.

"Y-yes?" I call out as I quickly shove my eggs under my pillow.

"Your father has decided not to have your training session this morning," Elizabeth calls through the door. "So go ahead and get ready for school."

"Alright," I respond before swinging my feet out of bed.

I have about an hour and a half until I actually need to get ready, so I decide to try and scrub away the rest of the blue that's still on my body.

After I set foot in my bathroom, I double back to my bed and scoop up the eggs in my arms. Something has me paranoid about what Elizabeth would say if she found out about them.

After an hour of intense scrubbing I've managed to erase all traces of blue from the parts of my hands neck and legs that aren't covered by my uniform.

But my hair is another story.

It still has a bluish tint to it, but I'm hoping mama had the right idea when she said a blue ribbon would take away from it.

I cross my fingers as I slip on my white button down shirt and blue skirt. So far, so good. My white knee socks cover my legs well enough, I just need to leave my hair down so it covers the back of my neck.

As I sit back down on my bed to slip on my shoes, I glance over at my eggs.

It's odd, how I've come to think of them as mine so quickly.

I take one of my old baby blankets from one of my drawers and pack them carefully into my school bag.

I step in front of my mirror and tie my necktie in a bow.

It's my last day here for hopefully, a while. The best I can hope for is that my personal tormentors are satisfied with what they did this weekend and the day goes by smoothly.

"_It's going to be ok, just smile."_

I freeze.

"Who's there?" I ask in a choked voice.

When I don't get a response I turn around slowly. No one's there. I swallow hard before turning back to my vanity and shakily slip on my blue headband.

"Are you ready for breakfast Miss Amaya?"

I bite my lips in order to keep myself from squeaking.

When I spin around Elizabeth is making my bed, completely oblivious to the fact that she nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Can you please stop doing that?!" I gasp as my heart thunders away in my chest.

"I'm sorry Miss Amaya, but it's part of your training," she replies calmly as she arranges my pillows. "If you can learn to sense my presence, it won't frighten you as much."

I bite down on my tongue to keep myself from retorting. She makes it sound like I don't try.

"You were saying?" I ask sharply.

"Right," she says as she finishes straightening my covers. "Breakfast?"

I glance at my bag out of the corner of my eye before turning back to Elizabeth, who's moved on to picking up my pajamas.

"Alright," I reply softly.

I pick up my bag and carefully sling it over my shoulder. I get nervous every time it bumps the side of my body, and Elizabeth seems to notice.

"Have a good last day Miss," she says warily as I step around her to get to the door.

**~Time Skip~**

Everything was just peachy until lunch started. I was on my way out of History when Nicolette and the three drones caught up to me.

"Ah, there you are Angélique," she says in a sugary sweet voice. "I was wondering if you were going to show up today."

The other three attempt to hide their snickering and fail miserably.

"Anyways," she trails off. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about. It's your hair."

Out of habit my hand immediately flies up to my pale blond waves, feeling suddenly terrified that they were going to do something to them.

"You see," Nicolette drawls, clearly taking pleasure in my sudden bout of panic. "It just doesn't work at all. I bought us all these matching dresses to wear at my party, and the way your hair is now will just ruin the look I'm going for. So why don't we fix it up a bit?"

To my horror, Lise pulls a kit out of her bag and produces a pair of thinning shears.

"Don't worry," she says as she tucks away the rest of the pouch. ".My mother is a stylist. I know what I'm doing. We were thinking chin length with bangs."

Oh god…a bowl cut. My panic levels rise as Nicolette gives me a predatory smile.

"Don't worry," she coos. "We're your friends remember? And it will look _great_ with the dress. Not to mention it will make you look cute."

"Yeah, _real_ cute," Catherine purrs.

"You'll never turn heads looking like that," Cecile whispers.

"So come on," Nicolette says as she grabs my wrist.

No…so this is how they plan to embarrass me for her birthday? I try to breathe around the lump in my throat as Nicolette goes to tug me towards the nearest bathroom.

No….

"_Say something! Are you just going to let them cut your beautiful hair?!"_

My panic rises at the return of the voice. I vaguely recognize it's not the same from this morning, but in my hysteria I can't keep myself from being dragged down the hall, much less question why I'm hearing voices.

I can't do it. I'm hopeless. I'm just as bad as these drones.

"_Oh for god's sake! Well, I guess if you could stand up to them I wouldn't be here._

_From a girl who follows the crowd to a girl who steps to her own beat! Character Change!"_

There's an audible popping noise before a strange feeling passes over me.

I stop dead in my tracks, digging my heels into the ground for good measure.

"What are you doing?"

Nicolette looks down at me with barely concealed annoyance in her eyes.

"Don't you want to look cute for my birthday?"

To my surprise, I feel a smirk spread across my face. But it looks like I'm not the only one who's surprised, because confusion clouds all four of their faces.

"What's cute is the fact that you think your opinion actually matters to me."

Nicolette stiffens before a glare crosses her fair features.

"Are you saying you're going to ruin my birthday by not getting the haircut?" she asks darkly. "I never knew you could be so selfish Angélique."

"You're going to lecture _me_ about being selfish?" I spit. "The world doesn't revolve around you princess. Why should I ruin my hair just so you can feel better about yourself?"

All at once there's another faint popping sound and all the confidence I felt a few seconds ago rushes out of my system.

"What did you just say?"

I feel myself shrink back as Nicolette looms over me. So I do the only logical thing. I turn tail and run.

I guess the only thing I really have seemed to master from my training is speed, because before I know it, I'm slamming and locking the door of a bathroom stall halfway across campus from my history class.

I lean back on the door as my legs shake uncontrollably.

"What did I just do?" I whisper in horror.

"_You finally stood up for yourself, that's what!"_

My insides freeze as the flap of my book bag opens and my purple and red splatter egg floats out.

My eyes widen as it cracks perfectly along the middle and springs apart to reveal a tiny person.

She has long scarlet red hair adorned with a large purple bow and big violet eyes. She sports a black and green pair of ripped shorts, a zip up sleeveless jacket that comes to a stop at the top of her ribs, a pair of green and black striped socks, and black arm warmers accented with a gold stripe at the wrists.

She also has on a black chocker adorned with gold spikes and a matching pair of headphones and ankle boots.

A long fluffy red tail with a black tip swishes merrily behind her.

"It's nice to finally meet you Angélique! Or do you prefer Amaya? Or can I just call you Aya-chan? That sounds cuter! Aya-chan it is!"

I finally find my voice after a few seconds of staring.

"W-who, or uh…w-what are you?" I ask nervously. "H-how do you know my name?"

"Oh whoops! I forgot my manners," she says cheerily. "I'm Jae! Your would-be-self."

"What?" I whimper.

"I'm the you that you wish you could be," she repeats. "If you want to be cliché you can say I'm your personal guardian angel."

"Uh, alright?" I say, taking a step closer to her. "So you are…?"

"I'm your desire to be your own person and speak your mind without fear of being judged," she explains as she floats closer to me. "You don't want to be another mindless drone that follows that bitch Nicolette. You want to be able to stand up to her."

"So then…all these eggs…" I trail off, looking down at my bag.

"Yup," Jae answers with a toothy grin. "They're all guardian characters like me."

"But there's so many," I say in wonder, looking down at the remaining four eggs.

"Well you're a complicated person Aya-chan. You're full of contradictions."

I feel a panicked pang go through me as the school bell chooses that moment to ring. I wasted my whole lunch hour hiding from Nicolette. My stomach rumbles in protest.

"Come on! Let's get back to class," Jae says excitedly as she floats up and over the stall door.

I panic again and fumble with the lock before stumbling out of the stall. Jae is hovering in front of one of the mirrors, fixing her bangs.

"What's wrong Aya-chan?" she asks as she sees my panicked reflection.

"Can't they see you? My classmates?" I ask nervously.

She smiles before hovering over to me.

"No one can see me unless they have their own Guardian Character or have a pure heart," she says softly. "You don't need to worry ok Aya-chan?"

I nod numbly as I tuck her egg into my bag along with the others, slightly scared but excited about what kind of characters will come out of them.

**~Time Skip~**

"So Jae," I whisper as I make my way out of the school building. "Was it you who made me able to stand up to Nicolette earlier?"

"Uh huh," she says as she hovers close to my shoulder. "And you may want to step up the pace Aya-chan…I think we have company."

"Angélique!"

I stiffen as I hear Nicolette's shoes clicking sharply against the stone walkway. Three other pairs are not far behind, and soon enough they skid to a halt just behind me.

"There you are," she wheezes. "About what happened earlier, I'm willing to forgive you. Now, I need you to come over to my estate for dress fittings."

"Um, y-you mean right now?" I stammer.

"No, the day of the party," she says sarcastically. "Yes now!"

"Come on, don't let her push you around. You're leaving tonight so it's not like she can do anything to you."

"You're right," I mutter.

"What was that?" Nicolette snaps impatiently.

"I can't go to your party," I reply, lifting my head to meet her furious gaze.

"What do you mean you can't go?!" she asks shrilly, attracting the attention of all the people around us. "I've been planning this for weeks! You can't just bail on me!"

"I'm sorry," say tonelessly, gaining a bit of confidence from her reaction. "But it can't be helped."

"What could be so important that it pushes my twelfth birthday down to the bottom of your priority list?" she asks acidly.

"Urgent family business," I say bitterly. "I'm going to be out of the country."

Her glare darkens and my fears return. I begin to shrink back, beginning to wonder what she's going to do. I've never seen her this mad before. Not even when I stood up to her earlier.

"_It's ok, she can't do anything to you with all these people watching."_

My pulse races at the return of the voice from this morning.

"What am I supposed to do?" I whisper back.

"_That's easy! Kill her with kindness!_

_From a girl who is blanketed in bitterness to a girl who can glow like the sun! Character Change!"_

Once again I hear a popping noise and another weird feeling passes over me. I feel my eyes become all large and glisten with tears, like the moe eyes in all those anime shows I watch.

"You're not going to hit me are you Nicolette-chan?" I ask in a slightly quivering voice, covering my trembling lips with my hands.

Nicolette staggers back in surprise at my actions. She looks at me with confusion written plainly on her face, and it's hilarious.

"I'm sorry, please don't be mean to me anymore," I whimper.

"What the hell's bringing all this on?!" she yells at me. "Are you defying me?"

"Since when is she your servant Nicolette?"

I watch in awe as a boy from our class breaks off from the crowd and stands between us. He shoots a withering glare at Nicolette before turning back to me. He has bright emerald green eyes and warm caramel brown hair.

I can feel my eyes grow even larger as a smile spreads across my face.

"Go on Angélique," he says softly. "I'll take care of this."

"Thank you," I say cutely, closing my eyes and tilting my head to the side.

He nods and gives me a small smile before I turn and run from the scene. As soon as I break through the last lines of people I hear the pop and my expression returns to normal.

"What was all that?" I ask as Jae catches up to me.

"That wasn't me Aya-chan," she says as I dash towards our family limo.

"Then who was it?"

Jae just shrugs and comes to a stop outside the car.

"Check when we get inside."

I nod as I pull open the door and collapse in the cushioned seats. I instruct the driver to head back to the estate before pulling down the privacy screen and sliding to the back of the limo.

Jae is looking excitedly at my book bag, her tail wagging back and forth furiously. I make a mental note to ask what kind of tail that is later.

But I shove the thought aside and open my bag.

My pink egg floats out, and cracks just like Jae's did.

The Character that floats out of it has pastel pink hair that is pulled into two braided pigtails and large turquoise eyes.

She wears a turquoise Lolita dress with pink ruffles and bows, and long white knee socks with pink bows at the top. Her bangs are parted to the right by two small turquoise clips.

She also has a pair of white bunny ears and cute cartoony turquoise angel wings.

"It's nice to meet you Aya-chan!" she says cheerily as she flies up to my face and hugs me the best she can.

"H-hi," I stammer as she flies back a bit.

"I'm Sun!" she says with a smile.

"So…what desire are you?" I ask curiously.

I mean with that outfit I can probably guess, but eh…I'll humor myself.

"I'm your desire to appear cute to others," she says. "You want to be positive, upbeat, and happy. And I'm also made up of the desire for people to stand up and protect you every once in a while."

"B-but I'm supposed to be a martial artist," I say quickly, putting emphasis on the 'supposed.' "I can't be relying on other people to save me."

Sun's bunny ears droop, and I suddenly feel extremely guilty for making her sad.

"Like I said before Aya-chan," Jae says solemnly. "You're full of contradictions, so it's no guarantee you'll become everything you want."

I nod as the limo comes to a halt. All of a sudden Sun's ears perk up again.

"OH YAY!" she exclaims. "I can't wait to see your house Aya-chan!"

"Well funny you should mention that," I say as I close my school bag. "We're going to be heading to Japan in a few hours for a….family reunion."

Sun and Jae look up at me curiously.

I had told Jae earlier that we were leaving the country to meet with the head of the family. But I hadn't told her the reason why.

"Ready?" I ask.

They nod and take a seat on both of my shoulders.

The chauffeur opens the door and I slide out of my seat.

Sun and Jae 'oh' and 'ah' as we make our way up the stairs and through the large front doors. My shoes click on the polished tiles of the entryway as I make my way passed all the extravagantly potted plants and over to the colossal staircase.

I'm just about to set foot on the staircase when Papa rushes out of the sitting room.

"Ah! There you are ma petite fleur!" he says with a smile. "Hurry up and get the rest of your things packed! We're leaving for the airfield in a few hours."

"Alright," I reply quickly.

"How was your last day?" he asks as I'm about to turn away.

I pause for a moment before looking back over my shoulder. For the first time in a long while, a small but genuine smile tugs at my lips.

"It was great Papa."

Then I turn around and run up the staircase before he can question me further.

**XXx Author's Notes xXX**

**alright! two down, three to go! i can't wait to introduce the last few to you. so let me know whacha think!**

**thanks to my beta SParklefaith ^^**

**i hop you all enjoyed!**

**lotsa love, krystal**


End file.
